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How Customer Service Dies at USAA (and Other Places)

Oh, customer service. Of endangered species, you are perhaps the most endangered. Companies with formerly great customer service seem to be abandoning it in droves. Take USAA, the big insurer (of which I have been a member since about 2000). I had the misfortune of credit card fraud on my account, through no fault of my own, and after resetting my credit card with one division, the other division "didn't get the memo." 


Two late fees later, I got an envelope through SNAIL MAIL with an alert. So I call into the call center to reset the credit card and are first told that they'll waive the late fee, and then oops - that they can't. The computers are clearly in charge.

Next, after listening to platitudinous message after message from the Customer Service (SIC) rep, I ask how to file a complaint, and she says, "Oh, we don't have a Complaint Number or Department." We can't actually file a complaint.

So basically the bottom line message was, "Sorry Mr McDonald, screw you, the computers are in charge."

Oh well, this is why God created blogging and Twitter and social media, so we can vent our frustrations about big, clodding corporations like USAA that are so unconcerned with Customer Service that they can't waive trivial late fees, don't empower their Customer Service (SIC) agents to be able to actually do anything, and generally just ignore their faithful and loyal customers.

Great insurance by the way. Terrible customer service that sugar coats itself with trivialities. #SAD.

Comments

  1. Oh my gosh yes!!! Had an accident last night and haven’t been able to verify my account so I can get past the front line. They are unable to recognize that I don’t have access to all of my passwords and PIN numbers from my account and my husband’s joint account while in the rain on the side of a freeway at night. Have basically been hung up on 4 times. Including whole on a conference call with my husband after going through the security person.

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